Smt Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, delivered a lecture on ‘India’s Foreign Policy Dilemmas, Challenges & Action’. She spoke on various aspects of India’s foreign policies, and the role of public diplomacy as a means of projection to the foreign as well as the domestic population.

The Foreign Secretary spoke on various aspects of India’s foreign policies, and elaborated on the importance of maintaining diplomatic relationships with the world. She also talked about the contributions made by India in maintaining peace, which would project India as the front-runner in gaining a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council with in the coming years.

Mrs. Rao spoke about the importance of environmental diplomacy in this era of climate change, as there is a definite disparity in the steps taken by the developed and the developing nations on this front. In this context, she said that India’s National Action Plan about climate change and also our participation in the G20 summit about global climate change, was well appreciated by the international community.

Talking about the global economic architecture, Mrs.Rao highlighted India’s unique position in the world, being both a recipient and a donor of economic and political diplomacy. She also stressed on the fact that the channels of communication with Pakistan, with whom we have had troubled relationships in the past, must remain open.Mrs. Rao concluded by stating that India’s foreign policy aims to support the cause of the common man.